Henry's Chapel United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna tell it to you. Six miles from Troup, out in Cherokee County, there's a community that took its name from a Cumberland Presbyterian minister named William Henry. And the church that bears that name, Henry's Chapel United Methodist Church, has a story that winds through land deals, oil booms, brush arbors, and a century of folks just trying to do right by each other and their neighbors.

Pull up a chair. This one earns its keep. Before 1914, a lot of the Methodists in that area were worshipin' at a place called Bethel, located two miles north of Henry's Chapel.

But the ground was shiftin', as it does. A man named R.E. Barron donated land to the Presbyterian Church, and that land, in turn, was donated to the Methodist Church.

Out of that chain of generosity came Henry's Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church South. The first minister was a circuit rider preacher named Joe Wells, and he didn't just serve Henry's Chapel. He covered other churches in the Marshall District, ridin' that circuit the way those preachers did, carrying the Word from one community to the next.

In the early days, the church hosted summer revivals, and those weren't fancy affairs. Prayer meetings and services were conducted under a brush arbor. Open sky, open air, and whatever faith you brought with you.

Then came the 1930s, and with them, the oil boom. Church membership grew, and growth has a way of creating its own demands. Henry's Church built a parsonage and hired Reverend J.L.

McAdams as the first permanent minister. The youth got organized in 1932 under the name Epworth League, and then in 1939 they changed the name to Methodist Youth Fellowship, reflecting a merger of three different factions of Methodists coming together under one roof. The women organized in 1935 as the Woman's Missionary Society, and don't let the formal name fool you into thinkin' it was all ceremony.

That group gave spiritual guidance, supported missions, and raised the funds to build a kitchen, a fellowship room, and other improvements to the church. They were builders, plain and simple. In 1968, the denomination itself changed the church's name to United Methodist, and the congregation kept right on going.

Through economic shifts and social changes, through boom times and lean ones, Henry's Chapel has continued to meet the needs of its community, as a place of worship, of spiritual growth, of social and civic life. Named for a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, built on donated land, shaped by circuit riders and oil booms and determined women and young people finding their footing, six miles from Troup. Some things, if you tend them, just last.

What the marker says

HENRY'S CHAPEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH THE COMMUNITY OF HENRY'S CHAPEL WAS ESTABLISHED SIX MILES FROM TROUP AND NAMED FOR CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER WILLIAM HENRY. BEFORE 1914 MANY METHODISTS WORSHIPED AT BETHEL LOCATED TWO MILES NORTH OF HENRY'S CHAPEL. R.E. BARRON DONATED LAND TO THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WHICH, IN TURN, WAS DONATED TO THE METHODIST CHURCH TO ESTABLISH HENRY'S CHAPEL METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH SOUTH. IN 1968, THE DENOMINATION CHANGED THE CHURCH NAME TO UNITED METHODIST. CIRCUIT RIDER PREACHER JOE WELLS BECAME THE FIRST MINISTER AND SERVED OTHER CHURCHES IN THE MARSHALL DISTRICT. IN THE EARLY DAYS, THE CHURCH HOSTED SUMMER REVIVALS WHERE PRAYER MEETINGS AND SERVICES WERE CONDUCTED UNDER A BRUSH ARBOR. CHURCH MEMBERSHIP GREW DURING THE OIL BOOM OF THE 1930s AND, AS A RESULT, HENRY'S CHURCH BUILT A PARSONAGE AND HIRED REVEREND J.L. MCADAMS AS THE FIRST PERMANENT MINISTER. THE YOUTH WERE ORGANIZED IN 1932 UNDER THE NAME EPWORTH LEAGUE AND, IN 1939, CHANGED THE NAME TO METHODIST YOUTH FELLOWSHIP TO REFLECT THE MERGER OF THREE DIFFERENT FACTIONS OF METHODISTS. WOMEN ORGANIZED IN 1935 UNDER THE NAME WOMAN'S MISSIONARY SOCIETY. IN ADDITION TO GIVING SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE, THE WOMEN'S GROUP SUPPORTED MISSIONS AND RAISED FUNDS TO FINANCE THE BUILDING OF A KITCHEN, FELLOWSHIP ROOM, AND OTHER CHURCH IMPROVEMENTS. THROUGH MANY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGES, THE CHURCH CONTINUES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AS A PLACE OF WORSHIP AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH AS WELL AS SOCIAL AND CIVIC EVENTS. (2012)